As part of national Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Kent Hospital will host an awareness event on Friday, Nov. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Doctors’ Auditorium. The event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend and learn about the latest tools to quit smoking and Kent’s Lung Cancer Early Detection Program.

Information from a variety of different Kent departments will be available, including pulmonary medicine, respiratory, dietary, education, wellness, thoracic surgery, Kent’s lung cancer early detection program and radiology. Attendees will learn firsthand about the latest in stop smoking information and hear doctors, nutrition experts and others who can help educate and motivate people to stop smoking.

There will be two informational lectures given by Laurie Reeder, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon at Kent Hospital, and Pam Hill, chief dietitian at Kent Hospital. These lectures will include information about lung cancer awareness, the effects of lung cancer treatments on the body and the changes the body can undergo while trying to quit smoking. There will be free food and a free raffle with great prizes.

Representatives will be present to provide pulmonary function tests and inform the public of Kent’s lung cancer early detection program. Kent Hospital created this program in 2009 with the objective of identifying those at high risk for the disease, finding and potentially curing early stages of lung cancer. When a lung cancer is just starting to grow, there are usually no symptoms. This is why it is difficult to find lung cancer in early stages. Unfortunately, when lung cancer is found in a more advanced stage, it is harder to treat. Early detection is possible with LR-CT scans, which can find tumors when they are still small and not causing symptoms.